70s
Toy Stories: Mouse Trap
It may be time to revise the old maxim, “Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” The mousetrap in the board game of the same name may have CONTINUE READING…
Toys
Columns
Toy of the Week: Hubert the Harris Bank Lion
When was this toy produced? Hubert the Harris Bank Lion was offered as a premium through Harris Bank in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Was there a Cartoon? Sort of. Hubert was an advertising icon, so CONTINUE READING…
80s
Toy Stories: Risk
Lay out the board, parcel out the territories, build up the armies, and commence global conquest. Even people who “don’t play strategy games” know Risk. Simple enough for a young mind to grasp, yet elaborate CONTINUE READING…
Columns
Toy of the Week: Rose Petal from Rose Petal Place
When was this doll line produced: 1984 Manufacturing Company: The raised print on the doll’s back reads “DKP 1984”, but the doll line was manufactured by Kenner, the same company that produced the original line CONTINUE READING…
Retro Wiki
Toy Stories: Sorry!
Woe to the unlucky Sorry! player, and the torrent of conflicting advice he hears from the little animated angel and devil that perch on either shoulder. Angel: “Show some sportsmanship! Prove you know the fine CONTINUE READING…
Retro Wiki
Toy Stories: Monopoly
A board game that hinges on buying and selling imaginary real estate might not, at first glance, seem like such a shoo-in for the All-Star Toy team. Kids like to pretend, sure…they imagine they’re superheroes, CONTINUE READING…
Retro Wiki
Toy Stories: Battleship
In this “classic naval combat game,” the open seas were cluttered with ships of war, five on each side. But unlike real war, these nautical enemies decided to play fair, standing perfectly still and taking CONTINUE READING…
80s
Toy Stories: Penny Racers
Matchbox and Hot Wheels were great for driving fast or for zipping along tracks and play sets, but for the spin-crazy, wheelie-happy, stunt driving kid, only a genuine Penny Racer would do. CONTINUE READING…
80s
Toy Stories: ColecoVision
ColecoVision was the Cadillac of home video games back in 1982; a system so powerful, you’d make friends with the biggest jerk on the block just to be near it. Everyone had an Atari—that quaint little CONTINUE READING…
80s
When Toys ‘R’ Us Came To Spartanburg, SC for Christmas 1985
If you were a kid in 1985 and lived near Spartanburg, SC, the excitement of the holiday season had to be intense! While flipping through Google’s Newspaper Archive recently, I happened to notice that “The CONTINUE READING…
90s
90’s Comic Book Action Figures Found In Jingle All The Way
If you’ve walked into a Wal-Mart this Holiday season you might have been surprised to see a forgotten 90’s icon on toy shelves. No, not Furby. Not a GigaPet. Not even the juggernaut that was CONTINUE READING…
Geekster Podcasts
TRN Time Machine: 1991 Sears Wish Book
Tis the season one of our favorite TRN Time Machine episodes of the year, a deep dive into all things pop culture through the pages of a Christmas catalog! This time we are traveling back CONTINUE READING…
Geekster Podcasts
TRN Time Machine: Movie Merch That Should’ve Happened
TRN Time Machine time jumps across many years in this week’s episode as Jason and Mickey try a new topic! The hosts spontaneously come up with Movie Merch (and also a few TV Shows) that should’ve been CONTINUE READING…
A1
No Love for G.I. Joe’s BattleForce 2000?
BattleForce 2000 is an all-time favorite as an adult collector, yet as I’ve been around the G.I. Joe community, I’ve found that there’s not much love for BattleForce 2000. 1987 was generally the beginning of CONTINUE READING…
Geekster Podcasts
Hellions Talks with Miss M of Diary of a Dorkette
On today’s episode Kevin sits down with Miss M of the Diary of a Dorkette blog. Miss M has been blogging about her toys for many years and is currently best known for the long CONTINUE READING…
